(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Posted on 05/26/2008 4:12:54 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored Sunday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.
"I had a feeling of longevity and that I might be among those who survived, but I didn't know I'd be the No. 1," the 107-year-old veteran said at a ceremony to unveil his portrait.
His photograph was hung in the main hallway of the National World War I Museum, which he toured for the first time, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States presented him with a gold medal of merit.
On Monday, he will be presented the American flag flying outside the memorial.
Buckles, who now lives in Charles Town, W.Va., has been an invited guest at the Pentagon, met with President Bush in Washington, D.C., and rode in the annual Armed Forces Day Parade in his home state since his status as one of the last living from the "Great War" was discovered nearly two years ago.
Federal officials have also arranged for his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the United States entered the "war to end all wars" in April 1917.
He was rejected by the Marines and the Navy, but eventually persuaded an Army captain he was 18 and enlisted, convincing him Missouri didn't keep public records of birth.
Buckles sailed for England in 1917 on the Carpathia, which is known for its rescue of Titanic survivors, and spent his tour of duty working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk in Germany and France. He rose to the rank of corporal and after Armistice Day he helped return prisoners of war to Germany.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.google.com ...
Great story for Memorial Day, too.
My gratitude for your service, Sir, and for that of all Veterans. The freedom I enjoy today to post on FreeRepublic came at tremendous cost, and is appreciated today and every day.
Correct. Not until 1924 did the federal government lay an unfunded mandate upon the states to keep track of births, deaths and marriages.
I believe he has been honored before. I seem to remember last year including the last three or possibly 4 WWI veterans.
Well, he has been honored several times over the past few years. Here’s a link to his page on the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.01070/#vhp:clip
He was also just recently given special permission to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april082008/ww1_vet_4-8-08.php
He looks better than my dad, who’s only 79!
That tank in the background is a Renault FT-17 and is a new edition to the museum.
Thank you for your service Corporal Buckles.
Bush had him in the Oval Office in March.
There is a photo of it somewhere.
He looks really good for 107! He probably hears that all the time.
“Correct. Not until 1924 did the federal government lay an unfunded mandate upon the states to keep track of births, deaths and marriages.”
As unfunded mandates go, my thought when I read your post was that I’m glad this one happened but...I feel bad that I was glad, though.
I stopped there when I was passing through on business. What a great memorial that is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.